I have side effects from some herbs I took. My eyes are in terrible pain when I stare at a computer screen, and I have joint pain about 2 hours after I eat cooked foods. I don't know what to do anymore.

I tried eating "raw" or "boiled" foods but I lose my energy the whole day. I cannot get up from the couch because I am too hungry. I am a university student and don't have time to waste. I cannot stay on the couch the whole day because I'm hungry when I have tests I need to study for.

I don't want to go to the doctor. Oh he will forward me to my optometrist for my eyes and he, in turn, will give me a new prescription. That's not what I want because I know my eyes can be fixed. Those difficult days I had with eating raw/boiled foods my eyes didn't hurt when I looked at a computer screen. I saw a lot of progress.

One more thing, I cannot start with eating some raw foods and slowly get to the stage where I don't eat any fried ones because of the pain in my eyes.
I'm sorry if I sound like a baby, but when your eyes hurt like hell it's so hard to study for tests.

Any suggestions?

dude,

How much fruit do you eat each day? Can you give me a typical daily menu for yourself, with times you eat and the quantities of the foods? Perhaps this will shed some light on why you are having difficulties.

I hear you.

-It sounds like you can START by taking a break from computer screens....poor foods and whatnot.....and just take more breaks......rest....and time for yourself......with healthier foods/juices....and better sleep/relaxation....with no stress.

-IS there a diet that doesn't cause you pain? What are your goals? If your goal is to increase your % of raw.....then start from where you are 100% comfortable and feel no pain....and stretch a little from there.

-Note (from my own experience): eye pain/strain can also be caused by poor vision / eye strain.........and by caffeine and stimulants.

-Just some tips.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Two thing that will help with eye strain - 1) palming and 2) deep breathing.

Palming is rubbing your palms together until they get hot, and then placing them over your eyes to prevent any light from entering your eyes, and then staring into the darkness inside your palms. It also helps to blink as you gaze into the darkness.

Deep breathing is taking deep diaphragmatic breaths, slow ones that have at least a 5 second inhalation and a 5 second exhalation, until you feel better again. Increasing the length of the breath to longer than 5 seconds is desirable.

Hi Brian,

I don’t work right now so I thought I could use this summer for healing.
I get 10 hours of sleep every night to help healing.

Breakfast (11 a.m.) some grapes & a banana. (I eat very little because when I wake up it seems like my body shuts down the “hunger” so that I don’t eat anything…I guess my body is telling me I need to heal at this time so no foods allowed)

Dinner (around 4:30 p.m.): 2 tomatoes, some cucumber, 2 boiled potatoes, about 10 pieces of peeled carrots (each piece is half the size of an index finger), a bottle of natural spring water, 1 banana.

Usually what happens then is by 8:30 p.m. most of my energy is lost. I get really hungry and decide to give in to my desires. So, I cook some spaghetti. I could stay hungry the whole night but you know I’m trying to picture how I would do homework when I’m so hungry, with no energy whatsoever.

Any tips would be appreciated Brian. I really want to heal.

dude,

When you get really hungry at night, what about eating enough fresh fruit (preferably all the same kind of fruit) until you are no longer hungry. For example, at 8:30 try eating 6 to 8 (or more) bananas until you are full and satisfied. If you do this, you might find that you are hungrier in the morning, in which case I recommend eat more sweet fruit.

I suggested bananas because they are available everywhere and convenient. But if you have local summer fruit that is season (say like peaches or nectarines), and you like that fruit, then choose that instead.

Hi David,

Personally I would love to never have to deal with computers. Unfortunately, there are very few jobs out there that require no use of computers.

From my experience, eating none-fried foods will cause no pain at all. It will in fact get rid of it quickly. I could then stare at a computer scren with no pain at all. Joint pain disappears completely! But the problem comes from losing all my energy. When I don't eat fried foods I stay hungry for the whole day, and lose most of my energy.

I guess my body is confused. A part of me feels comfortable with only frieds foods, and will not take an alternative. It's "non-negotiable". But that part of my body doesn't seem to care about the pain I will feel afterwards. It's really a difficult war going on inside of me.

As for eye pain, I need what you mean. I wear prescription glasses, but believe me the pain disappears "completely" when I avoid fried foods for a few days. Some good memories.

Brian,

6 to 8 bananas? I'm assuming you mean one after the other. Eat one, then eat banana #2, then banana #3,...., banana #6.
I guess I never thought of eating the same kind of fruit 6-8 times.
Have you tried that yourself? It sounds like a good idea, but would there be any side effects? I know that sounds like a stupid question, but I am a little afraid if I get some allergy or something after eating too much of it (you know that old saying too much of a good thiing is a bad thing).

Anyway, I will try it tonight though. Let's see what happens.

dude,

Yes, I eat a lot of the same fruit at each meal. For example, I will take a 15 pound watermelon and eat half of it. Or eat 8 or so bananas.

It sounds like you didn't realize how little calories are in each piece of fruit. Most people recommend eating at least 2000 calories a day (although many cooked eaters in the US eat in excess of 3000), and that means if you ate 3 meals a day, each meal would have to be around 700 calories. In terms of bananas, this is 7 to 8 bananas. Or if you ate nectarines, this could be 10 nectarines.

Let us know how it goes for you after you try this.

Quote

A part of me feels comfortable with only frieds foods, and will not take an alternative. It's "non-negotiable". But that part of my body doesn't seem to care about the pain I will feel afterwards. It's really a difficult war going on inside of me.

When I read this it made me wonder if anyone would actually try to live on fried foods only ? What a scary thought !

watch "Super Size Me"...it aint pretty.

Hey Dude,
My suggestion is Blended greens in a smoothie.

Get Victoria Boutenko's "Green for Life"

I hear you. So eat your fried foods.....and eat 1% less fried food per week....and 1% more healthy foods.....until you start to feel better. This kind of strain/pain could certainly be an aspect of 'detox'.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

greens
drink them
you'll get the energy you are looking for
always works with me
never has it failed

it is a constant source of energy
no spikes
no weird stimulant feeling
very steady

will also help with your eyes
cuz it cleans the liver and kidneys
which helps deliver micronutrients to eyes

happy studying

Here's a link to the update thread:
[www.rawfoodsupport.com]

dude, I cannot say for certain but when I was at university, my eyesight got so poor that I had to get glasses.

Make sure that you are using a computer screen to shield your eyes from radiation/glare.

Try to use natural light or a regular soft white light bulb. Stay away from Halogen and Fluorescent. The Fluorescents, especially, are terrible for your eyes.

Make sure you are receiving sufficient sleep to rest your eyes.

A couple of other things: 1. Not sure what your budget is but I found that Swedish Bitters by NatureWorks on cotton balls placed on my eyes helps reduce eye throbbing/nausea due to migraine from eyes and improves eyesight. I keep a bottle of this in the refrigerator and then use one Tablespoon per cotton ball for each eye. Keep the cotton balls on your eyes for about an hour or until the cotton ball dries out. There is an initial stinging with usage of the Swedish Bitters but it is quickly over. Swedish Bitters will also stain your clothing yellow so be careful. 2. You could place you cupped hand (all fingers together with your palm cupped) over each eye. Place the palm part over each eyes, one per eye. Then hold them there until you feel a burning in your palm, then a throbbing like a pulse, and then no sensation in your hand. Your eyeballs should be calm and your eyesight improved in either situation.

Also, make sure that the pain isn't related to something else like a brain tumor or something. In addition, you didn't say what herbs you took and the method of application. What were they and how did you use them? Why do you think it was the herbs that affected your eyes?

I understand about being reliant on your eyesight for studying, etc. I've been in a panic before about such things.

Good luck. Therese